Prospero Renaissance Perspective

Introduction The context of literature with respect to its application in the current world keeps changing with ever evolving dimensions. In “Prospero: A Renaissance Perspective”, Dr. Voskuil describes the true character of Prospero with her own perspective- A character from the play “The Tempest” written by William Shakespeare. Considering the targeted audience of the recent world, the author has used this literary work as a means of explaining how its context has affected the world. The Tempest discusses the era of British colonization while the targeted audience of this article is the listeners of the modern day life in the contemporary setting. The central thesis of this article revolves around the argument whether Prospero deserves to be recognized as the hero of the play, or should it be Caliban? The source of the doubts that Shakespeare’s audience have is the element of time. During The Renaissance in England, it was virtuous to be guided by reason rather than by emotions, unlike those within the contemporary world (9). In Prospero: A Renaissance Perspective, Voskuil uses her knowledge of The Tempest to trigger the emotions of the reader in hopes of changing their perception about the characters of The Tempest-

The credibility of this essay is established because of the intelligent tone that she has used. This method of writing is very effective because it uses a logical structure which captures the reader’s attention while placing the literature into context. It shows the impossibility of interpreting the intentions of Shakespeare with respect to the character of Prospero. The author challenges readers to “consider the ways in which Shakespeare’s Renaissance audience would have received Prospero in that such knowledge can only broaden a reader’s comprehension of the play”